


king of my heart

by lesmiserablol



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29119827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: “You were probably going to sit in each other’s laps the whole time anyway!” Toph shouts. “I could just feel the oogie radiating off of you two, how much of that movie did you guys spend making heart eyes?”Zuko doesn’t answer, fingers tight on the steering wheel. To be honest, he’s not sure how much of the movie he spent glancing over to watch Sokka’s face as he laughed, or his tears at the more sappy parts. It probably was a little too much.Toph reads his silence too easily. “That’s what I thought. For the record, I think you should tell him.”(or, 5 times Zuko tells someone he loves Sokka, +1 time he tells Sokka.)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 69
Kudos: 562





	king of my heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crosspin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosspin/gifts).



> Happy birthday Megan!!! <3

**1.**

“I think I’m in love with Sokka,” Zuko sighs, voice muffled by his pillow. 

Toph is lying on his floor, her guide dog Bandit by her side. Her hand freezes where she had been petting his head and she tilts her head in Zuko’s direction.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say right now,” she says honestly after a few moments of silence. “‘No shit’? ‘I told you so’? Or wait, do you want me to act surprised? I can do that, hang on...oh wow! You, in love with Sokka? I really must be blind because I did not see that coming!”

He lifts his head up to glare at her, throwing his pillow to properly convey his annoyance. She laughs when it lands on her arm and throws it back in the direction that it came from, and he lets out a surprised huff as it hits him in the head.

“Well you don’t have to be an asshole about it,” he mutters.

“You want to see me being an asshole about it? Hey Siri, call Snoozles.”

“What? Toph, don’t—”

_ “Calling Snoozles, mobile.” _

Zuko falls off his bed in his attempt to grab her phone from her, but by the time he has recovered Toph is already talking into the phone.

“Hey loser,” she says. “Sparky and I are watching a movie at his place...only if you bring three Baja Blasts...yes, I’ll pay you back...great, see you soon.”

Sokka hangs up and Toph puts the phone down, beaming. “Great news! Your mans is on his way.”

“He’s not my...why did you…” Zuko sputters, his heart still recovering. He had no idea what he expected her to do, but it wasn’t to...help him out by inviting said crush to his house, and his heart is still recovering from that panic. 

“You’re welcome,” Toph says, her tone smug.

“I am not thanking you,” he says, glaring at the road as he drives her home later that night.

“And why not? I was helping you out!”

“Is that what you want to call it? You choose the sappiest rom-com you could find even though you _hate_ those movies, and then you make us share the loveseat because you just  _ had  _ to take up the whole couch with your dog! I told you he isn’t allowed on the furniture! Now it’s going to smell like dog.”

Bandit makes a noise from the backseat, and Toph punches Zuko’s arm. “That was rude. Apologize to Bandit.”

“I’m not going to—”

“Apologize!”

“You first!”

“You were probably going to sit in each other’s laps the whole time anyway!” Toph shouts. “I could just feel the oogie radiating off of you two, how much of that movie did you guys spend making heart eyes?”

Zuko doesn’t answer, fingers tight on the steering wheel. To be honest, he’s not sure how much of the movie he spent glancing over to watch Sokka’s face as he laughed, or his tears at the more sappy parts. It probably was a little too much.

Toph reads his silence too easily. “That’s what I thought. For the record, I think you should tell him.”

* * *

**2.**

The first person that Zuko intentionally told about his hopeless crush on his best friend was his other best friend. The second person that Zuko talks to about his crush on his best friend is his best friend’s other best friend, and that time is...not so intentional.

Sokka sighs and puts his laptop on the coffee table, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. “I need a snack.”

Zuko spares him a glance, eyebrow raised. “You just had a snack thirty minutes ago.”

“Yes, Zuko, thirty minutes ago. You can’t expect me to study for more than thirty minutes at a time without a source of nourishment and nutrition,” Sokka scolds. 

“Of course, nutrition,” Zuko says dryly as he picks up the Pop Tart wrapper on the table. “You know, next time let’s study at my place. I have some decent snacks.”

“If you’re inviting me to eat at your place, make sure it’s on a night when Uncle is making Yakitori, that was to die for.” Sokka lets out a moan that Zuko absolutely cannot handle right now.

He clears his throat. “I’ll pass on the request.”

“In the meantime, I need a snack," Sokka repeats, standing. As he does, Zuko realizes how close they were sitting as they did their respective studying for their college midterms. The side of him where Sokka had been pressed against him suddenly feels cold. “I’m running to get something from the vending machine. Do you want anything?”

“I’m okay, thank you.” Zuko smiles up at him, and Sokka smiles back, lingering a second too long before clearing his throat and walking to the front door. 

“Don’t you want your shoes?” Zuko asks, glancing at Sokka’s feet.

Sokka shrugs. “Eh, it’s fine. It’s just down the hall. I’ll be back soon! Love ya!”

The door closes behind him and Zuko leans back against the couch, shaking his head even as the smile on his face widens. “If only you knew you’re the love of my life,” he says quietly to himself. 

He hears a sudden intake of air, followed by something shattering, and he sits up and whips around. He hadn’t noticed that Aang, their friend and Sokka’s roommate, had been in the open kitchen making a cup of coffee while he and Sokka were talking. The poor guy is now standing next to the kitchen island like a deer in the headlights, eyes staring widely at Zuko and hands still posed to hold the mug that is now broken on the ground. 

Zuko feels the heat rise up in his cheeks. “I, uh, did you hear that?” he says, voice sounding strangled. 

“Uh,” Aang is gaping. “Well...yes? I’m sorry, I thought you knew I was here.”

Zuko sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, counting to five. There’s a good chance he would’ve known Aang was there if he hadn’t been so distracted by Sokka. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”

He stands and Aang, still frozen, looks guilty as Zuko approaches him. Zuko bends down and starts collecting the fragments of the cheap mug in his hand. Aang seems to snap out of a trance and grabs some paper towels to clean up the spilled coffee. 

The silence is tense, and Zuko knows Aang is waiting for him to break it. He sighs again as Aang throws away the paper towels and starts to sweep up what is left of the coffee mug.

“Aang, can you...not tell him? Please?” Zuko asks.

Aang nods seriously. “Of course. You should be the one to tell him.”

“What?” Zuko asks, heart racing. “Why would I...well I mean, probably one day, but I haven’t thought about it much.”

“Zuko,” Aang says kindly, letting go of the broom with one hand to rest it on his friend's shoulder. “I don’t want to pressure you, I just think that one day, you should tell him. You never know what will happen!”

Before Zuko can respond to that, the door opens again. Aang gives him another smile, sweeping up his pile with a dustpan and disappearing into the kitchen.

“I’m back!” Sokka announces, dropping a handful of different snacks on the table. “Mission accomplished.”

Aang disappears into his room and Zuko tries to act normal as Sokka goes back to studying. He sits on the couch next to him, this time leaving at least a few inches of space between them, and is about to grab his laptop when he notices the snacks Sokka got and he freezes.

“If you’re wondering if those Hot Cheetos are yours, the answer is yes,” Sokka tells him, noticing his silence.

“But your floor never has these,” he says, unable to believe his eyes as he grabs the chips almost reverently. 

“Yeah, so I went to the office,” Sokka shrugs. 

Zuko’s heart is racing. The office for the apartment complex is in an entirely different building. Sokka can’t stand the chips, did he really go out of his way to get them for Zuko? “With no shoes? When there is snow on the ground?”

Sokka laughs. “I just ran fast. Which yes, meant that I slipped at one point, but it wasn’t too bad, really.”

Zuko stares at him. Sokka is smiling back softly. Zuko is suddenly aware that Sokka had moved his leg to touch his own.

“I have to go,” he says, standing up abruptly.

Sokka’s smile dims, and it makes something in Zuko’s chest clench, but he physically cannot be alone with Sokka for another second or he might just die. Or do something stupid, like kiss him. And then die. 

“Right now?” Sokka asks.

“Yeah, my...while you were gone, Uncle called. He needs a hand moving something in the kitchen of his shop, and if I take too long he’ll do it himself and get hurt.”

“Oh. Do you need help? Two strong men are better than one,” Sokka says, flexing, which is the _last_ thing Zuko needs right now.

“And Azula’s muscles and her stubbornness are better than two strong men, so I think we’ll be okay,” he answers. “Thanks for the chips, that...that was really sweet of you.”

Sokka’s smile brightens again. “You’re welcome! I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah,” Zuko nods as he grabs his stuff. “Soon.”

* * *

**3.**

“I just accidentally told Aang about my crush on Sokka,” Zuko hisses into the phone as soon as Toph picks up. Walking to Sokka and Aang’s apartment in the snow wasn’t fun, but going back home gives him time to walk off his anxious energy, so he doesn’t mind so much.

There’s a long silence on the other end, and then, “About your what?”

All the blood rushes from Zuko’s face and he stops dead in his tracks. “Oh. Uh, hi, Katara. Is Toph there?” 

“She’s in the bathroom,” Katara says slowly. “Did you want me to pass on a message? Something about...your crush on my brother?”

Zuko groans and starts walking again. “We can pretend this conversation never happened.”

“No, I don’t think I can do that,” Katara says. “The thought of _anyone_ having a crush on my brother is so oogie I don’t think I could wash it out of my brain even if I tried. And of all people, Zuko, I expected you to have higher standards.”

“Higher st— what? How could I do better than Sokka? Just now he walked barefoot through the snow to get me Hot Cheetos without me even asking for them!” Zuko argues, feeling worked up now. “Time and time again he proves to be the most thoughtful, amazing, wonderful person I know, and anyone would be lucky to be with him!”

There’s a laugh, and he grimaces. “You put me on speaker, didn’t you?”

“It’s been a long three weeks putting up with your pining ass. I’m glad I don’t have to bear this secret alone anymore,” Toph says, confirming his theory. 

“Yeah, well, you can also call Aang for that. He happened to overhear me confessing my love for Sokka to what I thought was an empty apartment,” Zuko grumbles.

“At this rate, I think Sokka will be the last person in the world to know about your crush on him,” Katara laughs. “You should talk to him, Zuko.”

Zuko sighs. “I don’t need this right now. I’m going to blow off some steam.”

* * *

**4.**

Zuko really should get back to studying, but in his defense, it is much easier to punch something repeatedly. Besides, he always has a clearer mind after going to the gym, this might help him do better. 

He takes off one of his boxing gloves, panting as he grabs his water bottle and takes a long drink out of it. 

“Come here often?”

Zuko lowers the bottle, surprised to see Suki in front of him, wrapping her hands.

“Hey,” he greets.

She grins, finishing with her wrappings and putting on her boxing gloves. “Want to go a few rounds?”

“Only if you go easy on me,” Zuko says. 

She snorts. “I make no promises.”

Zuko rolls his eyes but joins her on the open mat anyway. They stand across from each other, Zuko watching her warily. He hasn’t boxed with Suki in a while, usually he would practice with Sokka…

“You seem distracted,” Suki observes after a few minutes of throwing punches back and forth. She is going easy on him, but his head isn’t in it enough to take advantage of it. She throws a few jabs his way to force him to back up. He moves to the side and she mirrors him so they are circling each other again.

“Yeah, you know, midterms and all that,” he says, trying to end the conversation by going for her stomach. She catches the punch and he stumbles back when she hits his shoulder hard.

“And all that,” she echoes. “By that, you mean Sokka?”

Zuko freezes, and Suki takes the opportunity to sweep her leg and knock him off his feet, landing on his back. He sighs dejectedly, staring at the ceiling until Suki’s ungloved hand comes into view. He takes his own glove off and grabs it, letting her help him up.

“How’d you know?” he asks.

“He called me when I was on my way over here,” Suki says. “Said you had just left and asked if I wanted to study organic chemistry together. I told him I was already on my way to the gym, but he didn’t say you would be here too."

Zuko winces. “I wasn’t planning on it. I may have...panicked and ran out of there.”

Suki nods with a smirk. “Honestly, putting you two in a room together is a recipe for gay panic.”

Zuko freezes. “Who told you?”

“Told me what?” Suki asks, tilting her head. 

“About my...that...that I have feelings for him?” Zuko asks. “Gay ones?”

Suki blinks at him twice before her eyes widen. “Oh! Yeah.  _ Your  _ feelings. For Sokka. You’re the one who has...right. Definitely. No one told me, at least not about how  _ you  _ feel. Lucky guess?”

“Am I really that obvious?” he groans. 

“I must say, I have met more obvious people,” she mutters. “Where’d you get that hair tie, by the way?”

Zuko frowns, reaching up to his ponytail. “Uh, Sokka, actually. He gave it to me, said I never know when I might need it.”

“Hmm, I wonder if he thinks you look good with your hair up in a messy bun like that,” Suki muses.

“I don’t know, I usually only do it when I’m here, and we haven’t gone to the gym together in a while,” Zuko says. He tries to remember how long it has been, but it’s hard to tell. His memories of going to the gym with Sokka are less connected to time and more connected to Sokka, Sokka’s sweaty face, Sokka in a tank top, Sokka's calves...

“And I wonder why that is,” Suki smiles. “Do you want to go again?”

Zuko shakes his head. “I should get going, but thank you.”

“For kicking your ass?”

Zuko laughs. “Sure. And could you...keep it a secret? How I feel about him?”

He doesn’t know how he managed to not tell anyone for months, finally tell Toph weeks ago, and then spill the news to Aang, Suki, and Katara all in one day.

Suki nods. “Of course. But Zuko?”

“Yeah?”

“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”

He swallows. “Yeah.”

“I mean it though. I really think you should tell him.”

Zuko’s first instinct is to brush it off, but he pauses at the sincere look on Suki’s face. “I’ll...keep that in mind,” he says honestly.

* * *

**5.**

“You owe me,” Azula says when Zuko walks inside the house, his gym bag slung over his shoulder.

He raises an eyebrow. “For what?”

“Sokka asked me if I was sure we didn’t need any help moving stuff for Iroh,” Azula starts, and Zuko’s stomach sinks. “I covered for you, though. I said we had it handled.”

Zuko breathes out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Azula.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You owe me an explanation, now. It’s not like you to lie to Sokka,” she says.

Zuko puts his bag down and sighs, taking a seat on the couch that she is sprawled on. He is fully prepared to sit on her legs but she moves them out of the way at the last second and rests them on his lap afterward. He tries to tickle her foot and nearly gets kicked in the face for that.

“Don’t try and distract me, what is going on?” she narrows her eyes. 

“I feel so bad,” Zuko sighs. “I never lie to him. I just panicked and had to come up with an excuse to leave…”

“Does this have anything to do with your crush on him?” Azula asks casually.

Zuko stands up from the couch quickly, staring at her. “Who told you about that?”

“You did, just now,” Azula smirks. “Really, Zuzu, did you think I had no idea?”

Zuko groans, starting to pace. “Katara was right, at this rate he’ll be the last to know.”

“Ooh, you talked to Katara about it, did you? Did she say anything else?”

“Not really, she just...wait, what else would she say?”

“Oh, I don’t know, sisters are just very perceptive about things like this,” Azula says vaguely. “Maybe she knows something you don’t.”

“Do  _ you  _ know something I don’t?” Zuko asks quickly.

“Come on, Zuko, you already gave me what I needed to forgive the debt you owe me. Do you really want to owe me again for more information?”

Zuko’s heart is racing. “What do you know, Azula?”

“I think you should just cut out the middleman and talk to him directly,” she says, standing up. “Save you the trouble.”

He told his best friend about his crush on his other best friend, then he told his best friend’s other best friend, his best friend’s sister, his best friend’s other other best friend, and now Zuko has told his own sister. They all know him and Sokka better than anyone else, right? Why would they _all_ tell him to talk to Sokka unless they thought he might actually have a chance?

“Okay,” he says finally.

Azula sits up when he starts walking to the door. “Wait, you’re going now?”

“Yeah,” Zuko says, putting his shoes back on. “Unless you think I should wait?”

Azula considers this for a moment, then shakes her head. “Nah. I think you two have waited long enough.”

* * *

**+1**

Zuko is grateful he had the foresight to shower and change at the gym, but halfway to Sokka’s apartment he’s wondering if he should’ve changed into something nicer than what he’s wearing now. He’s in the same sweatpants he wore when he was with Sokka that morning, he has just added a hoodie that...belongs to Sokka.

Nah, this is acceptable.

Sokka stands in the doorway, stunned, when he opens it to see Zuko standing there. Zuko raises his hand and gives a little wave, immediately feeling embarrassed about it. “Uh, hi.”

“Hi,” Sokka says. He must be more stressed out for midterms than he was letting on, his hair is down and it looks like he’s been running his fingers through it.

“Sokka? Who is it?” Katara’s voice calls, and she stops when she notices Zuko. “Oh! Hey, Zuko!”

She glances between the two of them, and Aang’s voice in the background calls, “Zuko’s here?”

“Did you forget something?” Sokka asks him.

“Uh, no, I actually wanted to talk to you,” he says, glancing over and making eye contact with Katara for a moment. “Alone.”

“That’s great, because Aang and I were just leaving!” she says immediately.

“We were?” Aang asks, wandering into view, his face more serious when he sees the look on Katara’s face. “I mean, yeah, we were! Let’s go, we don’t want to be late for the...thing.”

Katara snorts and grabs Aang’s hand, leading them out of the apartment. She pats Sokka on the back and throws a wink over her shoulder at Zuko as she does, and Aang waves goodbye to the both of them.

Sokka seems to realize Zuko is still standing in the hall, because he jumps back. “Do you want to come in?”

Zuko smiles and follows him inside. “Thanks. Uh, how is studying going?”

Sokka grimaces. “I haven’t gotten much studying done since you left, actually. How was helping your Uncle?”

Zuko follows Sokka into the living room, scratching the back of his neck, a nervous habit he picked up from Sokka. “I’m sorry, but...I lied to you, he didn’t need my help with anything.”

“No offense, but you’re not a very good liar,” Sokka says, the smile not quite reaching his eye as he sits on the arm of the couch.

Zuko frowns, stepping to stand in front of him. “I know, and I feel bad, I just...I needed an excuse to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“What? Why?” Sokka looks even more hurt at that, scooting further away from Zuko, and Zuko really wants to kick himself right now.

“That’s not— no! Ugh, sorry, I’m doing this all wrong. You just...being so close to you all day, with you doing nice things to me, it made me panic.”

Sokka snorts. “Do you want me to be meaner to you? Is that why you and Toph are so close?”

Zuko laughs softly. “No, that’s not...let me explain. I have feelings for you, Sokka. Like, gooey, romantic feelings, and sometimes when I’m around you a lot it makes it harder to not do something stupid like kiss you, so I panicked and left. I’m sorry. If you...don’t want to see me so much anymore, that’s okay, I understand.”

Sokka blinks at him. “You...have feelings for me?”

Zuko nods, looking away. “Yeah. I should’ve told you sooner, but I don’t know, I guess I didn’t want to ruin anything between us—”

“Zuko,” Sokka starts, looking incredulous. “Why do you think I ran through the snow to get you those disgusting Hot Cheetos? Why do you think I help you with your stats class and drive you to work sometimes because you hate driving in the snow and have your birthday as my phone password? Why do you think I go to the Jasmine Dragon so much even though I don’t like tea?”

Zuko blinks. “Are you saying…”

“I love you, Zuko. I am in love with you. I thought I was being obvious, and that you noticed and ran out because you were trying to turn me down. I spent all of today worrying about it. Aang and Katara were trying to cheer me up, telling me I should talk to you before panicking. I was so nervous though...I'm glad you showed up."

“You love me,” Zuko repeats. “That’s...great. That’s awesome.”

Sokka snorts. “‘That’s awesome’? Is that what you have to say in response to all of that?”

“Well, there is one more thing. Can I kiss you?”

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
